


Heart and Ferns - Z

by Rhain



Series: Heart and Ferns [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-27
Updated: 2019-09-27
Packaged: 2020-10-29 08:29:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20793680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhain/pseuds/Rhain
Summary: Sequel to Heart and Ferns - Countdown to V Day.  Set during the events of the One Piece film Z.





	1. Chapter 1

What a beautiful day. Sanji didn’t know if he could even dream to ask for a better one. The sun was shining, the crew was laughing and throwing around a ball in the grass, the ladies were dressed in their finest summer bikini tops, and Sanji was reveling in the tone.

He crossed the deck of the Sunny and set a tray of cold beverages next to Robin, Nami, and Brook. After making sure the artful drinks were firmly in the delicate hands of his ladies, Sanji picked up the glass of milk he’d also brought out and handed it to Brook. The skeleton made some ridiculous bone pun, but Sanji hadn’t bothered listening to it. The smile on his face was gratitude enough.

Leaving the other drinks where they sat on the tray, Sanji picked up the cool stein of beer and headed towards where Zoro was doing arm curls. “Drinks!” he called out as soon as he was out of the way of what was certain to be a mad rush.

Zoro stood up and wordlessly joined Sanji at the rail, taking the offered beer in silence as Sanji pulled out a cigarette. They stood there, quietly enjoying each other’s presence without needing to muck it up with words.

Things had changed since the Sea Market, Sanji observed internally while outwardly his eyes tracked the motions of the crew. The change was small but, once you noticed it, it was also huge. Never before would he have just up and decided to make special drinks for everyone on the crew. But, of course, never before had he been so enchanted by the Marimo.

Which was why he decided he needed to bring special drinks to everyone. It was easier to disguise his actions when he did nice things for everyone instead of just Zoro and the girls. The girls knew, for sure. Nami stole almost smug looking glances at them when she thought they weren’t looking, and Robin plainly watched them whenever she got bored of whatever book she was reading.

Sanji’s attention flickered to the rest of the crew, trying to decide what anyone else knew. Luffy. Luffy was watching him, and the sudden awareness was a shock that had Sanji gasp and straighten faster than his normally casual motions. He caught himself before he fully dropped into a defensive pose, but not before Zoro had taken the queue.

Zoro tensed beside him, a hand moving to the hilt of a sword, ready to attack what had apparently snuck up and startled the cook even before he turned his head to see what it was. He realised it was nothing in time to stop himself from dropping his glass and forced himself calm, but not before his sudden alertness caught Robin’s attention. Which in turn meant that her arms were up and crossed before she knew where the target was.

They were so used to relying on each other in combat that Sanji had started a chain reaction in his allies. It was absolutely embarrassing.

Luckily, Luffy had stuffed some straws in his nose and was making faces at Chopper, distracting most of the rest of the crew with laughter and foolishness. Robin slowly lowered her arms as she gave Zoro a questioning gaze. Zoro tipped his chin up defiantly in response, but his expression faltered and his eyes flicked to Sanji for just the briefest moment.

There was a bit of concern on Zoro’s face, but Sanji didn’t comprehend the source. He turned his attention back up to Robin, mind already trying to weigh the pros and cons of a public and flowery apology versus a quiet and genuine one. When he saw the same look of concern on Robin’s face, part of him grew cold and whatever words had been coming died on his lips. He didn’t know what to say or do, so he chose to turn his back to the crew and look out at the comforting sea.

In the week since the Sea Market, Sanji had found himself more jumpy than normal. More hyper aware of the people around him. Too hyper aware. He could feel it when anyone looked at him. And if he made eye contact too suddenly or for too long, he would start to get overwhelmed and need to turn away.

Chopper had called it anxiety. He said that sometimes victims who went through trauma became anxious when they were around other people, even their closest friends and loved ones. And that sure seemed to be the case. In fact, Chopper was about the only one on the ship who didn’t give him those overwhelming feelings.

Whatever it was, whatever was causing this ‘anxiety,’ Sanji needed it to stop already. He’d been through more tragedy than ten normal people could experience in their lifetimes, and he’d always come out okay. What made this time different than any other time? Why was this time the first time he’d ever actually felt like a ‘victim’? Or, was that word lingering just because Chopper had said it?

A clunk of glass on wood drew Sanji’s attention down. Zoro had set the empty glass beside him to draw his attention, but Sanji couldn’t bring himself to look up at Zoro’s face again. Would he see annoyance there? That might be better than the concern. Or, worse still, indifference. Zoro lingered for just long enough to be comforting without it getting weird, and then walked back to his hand weights.

“Sanji! Ball!” Luffy called just as Sanji noticed the object entering his personal space. He reached up to catch it, but thanks to a breeze the light ball blew just over the tips of his standing reach. He sighed, knowing the ball was sailing over the rail without actually looking over at it.

Usopp and Chopper joined him at the rail, both leaning over to get a good look of how far away it was. Chopper was frowning, and that made Sanji sigh. He supposed it was his own fault for not catching it. “I don’t know why you’re playing with such a light ball anyway,” he said as he stepped up on the rail. “Put some water in it to weigh it down so it doesn’t blow away again.”

He jumped over the ledge to the sounds of the idiot trio—Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper—cheering him on, and Air Walked to water level. The ball the three were playing with was multi-coloured so it didn’t take Sanji too long to spot it in the waves, and with a distinctive ‘Pock’ noise Sanji made his way towards it in a wide arc. Coming back around so the ball was between him and the Sunny, he kicked it off the surface of the ocean and back towards the deck.

It flew right between Usopp and Luffy’s heads, and the pair actually knocked into each other in their efforts to catch it. Sanji smiled in satisfaction when he saw them disappear from sight and knew they’d fallen onto the deck. Chopper gave him a wide grin and turned to join the other two.

Content they would leave him alone so they could play with their prize, Sanji adjusted his legs to kick back up. To his surprise, and for the first time since he’d learned how to Air Walk, he faltered. His leg felt cold and numb, where normally he felt warm with passion. He looked down for the source of the feeling, but did not have time to figure out what was happening.

The ocean itself had leapt up to pull him down. It wrapped first around his legs, throwing him off balance, and then it curled around the rest of his body and dragged him under the surface. The feel of the ocean around him was enormous. It was like all the water from the rest of the world was all trying to flow through the same place his body was trying to exist.

Sanji couldn’t move. He couldn’t breathe. Was this drowning? He’d never experienced this weight before. The ocean had always been his friend. His ally. His home. But now it was dragging him down, and he couldn’t even shift as he sank deeper and deeper. Bubbles escaped his lips, floating up through the water that had filled his open mouth, and teasing their way past his outstretched arm. He watched them go, following their trail back to the hull of the ship. So far away now that he could hardly make out the keel.

The crew was still moving, and he was sinking. They were leaving him behind, and they didn’t even know. It was easy to forget about Sanji being on board; he was always tucked away in the kitchen when everyone else was out relaxing. But he needed someone to notice. Luffy… Zoro… Robin… They were all so perceptive in their own ways. Surly, one of them would realise he hadn’t climbed back on board. _One of you notice I’m not there? Please? Luffy? Marimo? Ro…_

His air was gone. His lungs were burning. He tried to thrash about, but he was a hammer. It had to be a dream. A nightmare. No one on the crew was a better swimmer than Sanji. The ocean was his life. His vision began to fade to darkness. It was all blue around him. All. Blue. With maybe just a touch of green…


	2. Chapter 2

Zoro internalised a smile watching Luffy and Usopp fall over each other like that. They came up pushing on each other’s faces, but Chopper had already retrieved the ball and was tromping out behind Franky to hide with it. Which of course meant he was holding the ball behind Franky’s leg while the rest of his body was fully in view for anyone to see. He still hadn’t learned how to hide.

Sometimes Chopper was hilariously adorable, and for that, Zoro did actually let himself smile. He glanced over to see if the cook had seen it, but Sanji wasn’t on the deck. Probably went back inside where the shade was while Zoro had been distracted watching Chopper. Sanji had been skittish around crowds recently, so Zoro mentally shrugged his absence off.

He’d done another twenty five arm curls before he saw Luffy straighten like he’d just noticed something wrong. And suddenly, Zoro noticed it, too. Robin was already at the rail, looking over the side at the water, her book discarded on the deck. Zoro dropped his weight with just as little care, pushing between Luffy and Robin so that he could get up on top of the railing.

“Do you see him?” Luffy asked while Zoro drew a sword.

“What’s going on?” Nami asked.

“Man over-board,” Robin replied. Her arms were folded up and her eyes were closed, so Zoro could only assume she was using her ability to look for Sanji.

Suddenly, Usopp was up on the railing next to Zoro. His goggles were down covering his eyes, and he was adjusting them to get a better look at the water. “There,” he called, pointing. “Bubbles!”

“Sanji!” Luffy called making as though to join in the hunt, but all he succeeded in doing was slowing Usopp down when the sniper had to turn and prevent his hammer of a captain from jumping in and making things worse.

Zoro was already in the air before Usopp had time to finish pointing. Wado was gripped firmly between his teeth just in case there had actually been something in the water that needed killing. He felt the bubbles Usopp had been pointing at before he could see that he was directly over the cook. They tickled horribly along his waist and up off his sides when Zoro changed direction to dive towards them.

Sanji was deep in the water. As Zoro got closer, he could see that his mouth was open and his eyes were closed to slits. He looked stunned. And pale. Zoro swam harder, outpacing the cook who was apparently just drifting on a current. One of Sanji’s hands was outstretched above him, and when their fingers met Zoro felt more relief than he ever expected. With a final swipe of his arm, he managed to wrap his fingers around Sanji’s wrist and then change their direction.

The surface seemed forever away, and Sanji wasn’t moving. He decided not to focus on that, and instead swam towards the Sunny. When he got closer, he angled for the dock that he could see opening at the side. Sword still in his mouth, arms wrapped around the cook’s dead weight, Zoro kicked for all he was worth and wished the roles were reversed. It pained him to admit it, but with those legs of his, Sanji was a better swimmer than any non-fish-person he’d ever met.

The gasp of breath Zoro took when he broke the surface was loud, and almost cartoonish. He didn’t think the cook had re-joined the breathing, but couldn’t be certain as he was snatched away before he could get a closer look. Luffy’s outstretched arm was snapping back into place, and dragging Sanji just little bit extra towards the Sunny.

When Sanji hit the deck, something must have knocked some sense back into him. He immediately began to cough and hack, looking like he was bringing up half an ocean. His eyes were wide where they peeked out from behind wet fringe, seeking something.

For a moment, Zoro was conceited enough to hope that something was him. When he realised that Sanji had been searching for Chopper, that feeling intensified. Something was wrong with their cook and the cook didn’t quite know what. Worse still, Chopper didn’t look like he knew any better.

Chopper reached for Sanji, but upon realising how soaked through in ocean water he was looked up at Usopp. “Take him to my infirmary.”

Sanji didn’t like that one bit. “I’m fine,” He insisted. He pushed up himself, took one step on shoes so waterlogged that they made an audible squish, and stumbled back to his knee. No one seemed more surprised by the fall than he was.

“Of course you are,” Usopp was at his side and had him sliding onto his back before any more protests could be heard. “But you’ll make Chopper sad if you don’t follow your doctor’s orders.”

“Ch.” Sanji clicked his tongue at Usopp before they disappeared down the hall.

“What is going on?” Nami’s tone was filled with concern. She offered Zoro a hand back to his feet, which he accepted graciously.

Zoro just shook his head. He had no idea. Was Sanji still being affected by that dead asshole? Was he sick? Had something attacked him? He finally looked over at Nami and said, “Chopper will find out.”


	3. Chapter 3

It had been two days since Sanji had fallen overboard, and things were finally starting to return to normal. Chopper couldn’t find anything wrong with him, and Sanji felt fine. He hadn’t had any other dizzy spells, and he hadn’t felt any more random numbness.

Standing in the kitchen making an orange drink for Nami, Sanji closed his eyes and listened closely to the sounds of the crew drifting in from outside.

Brook was making a racket like he hadn’t heard since he was a young boy listening to drunken guests on the Baratie while he tried to sleep. Luffy was laughing like a fool. Robin and Usopp were tending their gardens. Chopper and Zoro were quietly enjoying drinking together—Sake for Zoro, and milk for Chopper—and Franky was screeching along to the music as though he actually knew the words to the song.

Zoro was so serene. It was nice.

Chopper noticed something off about his milk, and Sanji’s hands stilled as he waited to hear what exactly that wrong thing was. Poison? Never. Not his food, not his crew. It would be unacceptable. When they realised it had been Usopp’s pesticides, Sanji was relieved, but he also frowned. He’d have to talk to Usopp about what that sort of thing could do to his meals.

Above deck, Nami was thirsty, so Sanji dropped some ice and a few straws in her drink before heading upstairs. His special delivery was met with much gratitude, and it made the cook feel warm and loved all over. He’d give his whole world to make that woman happy, so when she asked for a follow up of desert, he was glad to oblige.

The rest of the idiots and their idiot requests? Well. He’d oblige those as well, but he wouldn’t let the morons know just how happy it made him to serve. He was in the middle of explaining that his special services were meant for the ladies only when something falling from the sky caught his attention.

Sanji looked up to discover a cloud of smoke, and realised that the flakes were ash. Like from a large fire. Large enough that the smoke cloud blotted out the sky. It was discomforting. What structure could burn so much as to block out the sky?

“This is… Volcanic ashes!” Nami sounded stunned, and the astonishment sifted through the crew as they repeated her words. Was there a volcano erupting nearby? He felt sick in the pit of his stomach, as though the wave of destruction was rolling through him. His haki wasn’t nearly as strong as Luffy’s or—he hated to admit it—Zoro’s, but now that he thought about it the notion of a place being wiped out by a stream of lava would match the discomfort he was feeling.

Nami and Franky converged immediately so they could check their headings and make certain they weren’t in any sort of danger while Robin talked to Chopper about the ash that had gotten into his fur. With little else to do for the situation, Sanji lingered near Zoro. The swordsman was always such a calming presence, and the thunder and lightning ripping through the smoke clouds had the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end.

“Look, my face is also disgusting!” Brook was pointing to his sooty cheek bones and laughing, but upon realising that he had the features of a skeleton and that most people would consider him disgusting even if he still had a face, the laughter turned to tears.

“Don’t make yourself sad, with your own words, idiot,” Sanji chastised Brook, finally looking away from Zoro long enough to pay attention to what the skeleton was doing.

“No,” Robin said, simply, and without looking at their bard. She crossed her arms, and Sanji had to smile as the action pulled her loose fitting top tighter to her body. Robin may have been a little older than most of the rest of the crew, but she still had an excellent body.

It was only then that Sanji remembered he’d made tea as well. It wasn’t like him to forget to nourish one of his favourite ladies, but passing that off he retrieved the tray and served Robin her drink.

Franky asking Nami a question drew her attention away from the dials on her wrist for long enough that she could fill everyone in on what she was thinking. Apparently, one of the pointers was acting unusual.

“It looks like a lost child who can’t find their parents,” she described in what he could only consider to be a dazzling simile for the way the pointer was searching out of control.

“What do you mean by that?” Franky asked.

Nami held her hand up so Franky could see the needle while she explained. “The island that the volcanic ash came from might have been destroyed by the eruption. Or at least it was damaged so much that large enough part the needle doesn’t recognise it.”

“That’s impossible!” Franky replied, dismissing Nami’s explanation.

“This is the New World,” she snapped back, only slightly annoyed.

“That’s right, you bastard.” Sanji sauntered over with his covered tea kettle and cups. Nami’s drink would probably have been ruined by the ash, so she would need a new one. “You can’t be surprised by anything here. Now, disappear from the vision of Nami’s side, you cherry shit.” There was no heat to the words; it wasn’t like Sanji was insulting Zoro.

“Nami-san, some tea,” he offered, without giving Franky room to reply.

“Thank you, Sanji-kun,” she said in genuine gratitude before continuing. “Anyway, we need to avoid heading towards that island at all cost.”

“In that case, Nami,” Usopp started as Nami took a sip of her tea. Sanji pressed a cup into his hands as well, since the cook could tell that working in his garden had made the sniper thirsty. Usopp was quietly grateful, and lowered his voice into what he hoped wasn’t a suspicious whisper. “There is someone we can’t show that pointer to by any means…”

Nami didn’t even have to think about the words. Her tone dropped to a similar conversational whisper. “That’s true,” she concurred. “Choosing the safest route to guarantee the safety of the crew is my job.”

Sanji jumped at least a foot, surprised when Luffy’s head dropped down from the deck above. Had he been eavesdropping? “That needle is acting strangely!” he exclaimed, mindless of the fact that he’d just startled them all. He got a face full of tea from both Nami and Usopp for his antics, but that didn’t do anything to dissuade him from his train of thought.

“Luffy!” Nami exclaimed.

“Let’s go there!” their captain returned.

Usopp was dismayed. “Crap! He saw it!”

“I smell adventure!” Luffy’s head disappeared back to the top of Sunny’s mane where his own body was perched.

“Wait, Luffy, you didn’t listen to everything Nami said! Those ashes were—“

“Oi, everyone! Our route has been decided!” Luffy called out. “Get ready!”

Sanji felt something turn in his stomach. If that wave of nausea from earlier had anything to do with people being hurt on that island during a volcano, and if there was any chance for survivors, he wanted to help. He wasn’t looking forward to it, but he did want to help. With an eruption like Nami was describing, storehouses would be destroyed, livestock would be ruined, and supply lines from other islands would be cut off. People would probably be starving.

“Luffy…” Usopp whined softly, but Nami put a halting hand on his shoulder. He turned back to look at her, and she was shaking her head to tell him to stop arguing. “But… If the pointer is going crazy, how will we even know where the island is—“

“Be quiet.” Determined Nami was so lovely. “I am the navigator. Anywhere we decide to go, I can take us there. Luffy!” She turned to look up at Luffy, who was hanging over the back of Sunny’s mast head, watching them. “Take watch!”

“Leave it to me!” It was always interesting to watch the captain eager to take orders from Nami. He trusted her so completely by this point that he knew following her direction was the fastest way to get what he wanted.

Everyone else moved to the main navigation deck. Usopp crouched next to Nami and Franky took the helm. Sanji fell in beside Zoro, once more taking comfort in his calm.

“Is it really alright? Choosing to our path like this? It could cost us our lives…” Usopp was concerned, but also trusted Nami to do right by them. Luffy might be a bit of a loose cannon, but at least Nami was a dependable rock.

Nami ignored him in favour of issuing directions to the cyborg steering their ship.

“Hey, are you listening to me?”

Nami smiled back at him over her delicate bare shoulder while she addressed them all, “We don’t know what might happen, so you should prepare yourselves for anything.” When Usopp seemed crestfallen, she added, “We can’t do anything about it now. After all, he is the captain.”

Sanji felt more than saw or heard Luffy’s amusement with her statement. Everyone was smiling and ready for adventure, so reluctantly Usopp resigned himself to the situation.

“But,” Nami added, logically, “We don’t want to get ourselves involved with volcanoes. Or anything like that. It could threaten our lives!” People, marines, other pirates? They were one thing. The crew could obviously handle things like that. It was entirely different to get in the way of an honest force of nature.

That reassurance finally seemed to do the trick with Usopp, and he relaxed visibly. Which also made Sanji relax. He smiled softly, the crew once more in harmony, and slid his hands into his pocket to find his smokes.

He didn’t even have a chance to get one lit before Luffy was calling back to them about a man overboard. The statement made everyone glance awkwardly back at him, which in turn made him tense, but it didn’t last long thanks to Chopper urging everyone to action.

Chopper and Luffy were the first to arrive on the lower deck. Sanji didn’t even think either of them touched a rung on their way down the ladder. By the time he and Usopp joined them, their Captain was hunched down on the floor against Chopper, sweating heavily and taking long breaths. Sanji didn’t know what had happened to him, but Chopper was franticly begging them for help with the castaway, so he didn’t dwell on trying to figure it out.

Bit by bit, the pair reeled in the large man. He was a lot heavier than he looked and they were pulling against the current, but the bulk Usopp had added on top over the past two years was absolutely translating to generous upper body strength.

Sanji managed to get an arm under one of the castaway’s, while Zoro and Usopp grabbed the giant metal one. As soon as he was safely on board, Luffy released him and reeled his arm back in.

“Luffy, are you okay?” Chopper asked quickly. The captain gave him a big smile and a nod, so Chopper turned his attention to their new cargo. “Get him over here, so I can have a look at him.” He pulled out a stethoscope that Sanji wasn’t even aware he was carrying and began to check his vitals.

Sanji chewed on his unlit cigarette as they all waited tensely.

“So… Is he alive?” Usopp asked. It sounded like he was pretty sure they’d just pulled in a corpse.

Finally the doctor announced he was okay. “His heart rate and breathing are weak, but he’s only passed out. He’s not in any danger.”

“Really?” Usopp asked, a small laugh in his tone. He seemed relieved, but somehow the news didn’t do anything to take Sanji off edge.

“I hope we didn’t find someone problematic again,” Nami huffed. She was more concerned than annoyed, even though nine times out of ten their problematic castaways were the responsibility of her idiot crewmates. It was kind of her not to hold their collective stupidity against them. “A big guy… All bruised. And this business with his left arm… Just by looking at him, anyone can tell he’s not normal.”

Sanji watched Robin poking the metal arm as Nami spoke. Maybe that was it. Maybe that was what was putting him on edge. But he wasn’t normally one to judge someone by their looks alone.

Robin let out a soft gasp. “That’s really made of Kairouseki.” She was stunned. As well she should be; that much Kairouseki in one place could only really mean one thing.

“I get it! That’s why Luffy lost his strength when he touched it.”

Sanji straightened. Chopper thought he got it—and sure, he understood the core concept—but he didn’t really get why that was important.

“A powerful weapon made of Kairouseki…” The concern on Nami’s features was appropriate as she spoke. The awe on Luffy’s, Usopp’s, and Chopper’s was not.

“Awesome!” they all exclaimed, stars practically dancing in their eyes.

“That’s not it!” Nami cut them off, starting to get pissed at them for being so clueless.

Sanji took that opportunity to step in and save her before this dissolved to her just kicking their asses. “Kairouseki has the same energy as the ocean.” Finally, the blond flicked open his fancy gold lighter that Zoro had given him. He took a moment to light his cigarette, the pause giving the rest of his crewmates a chance to turn their attention to him before he continued. “A weapon made from that material… means that it was made specifically to fight Devil’s Fruit users.”

“He might be an enemy,” Nami agreed. “And we can’t lower our guard in the New World.”

“If you’re worried, throw him overboard,” Zoro, ever helpful, supplied as a solution. Did the bastard always have to think in such black and white terms?

“Idiot! We can’t do that!” Usopp chimed in as the voice of reason, just as Chopper disagreed as well.

“I don’t want to do that!”

Zoro looked down at the adorable little doctor. “He might kill you as soon as you cure him.”

It sounded cold, especially with the way the creepy swordsman was smiling, but Sanji was surprised to notice genuine concern underlying Zoro’s motivations. He was testing Chopper’s resolve and, while he did look momentarily terrified, it was a test Chopper passed. “None of that matters. I’m a doctor! I can’t abandon him.”

Usopp and the girls were frowning, but Zoro seemed proud of their tiny doctor. Before Usopp or the ladies could talk him back from his convictions, Luffy chimed in. “What’s the problem?” Everyone turned to look at their captain while he addressed their doctor. “Heal him, Chopper. If he turns out to be an enemy, I’ll stop him.” He looked up to the room at large. “Is that alright?”

“Yes!” Chopper replied for all of them. “Thank you, Luffy!”

The bravado was contagious. “Well, as a fellow warrior of the sea, I’d have to say it’s alright,” Usopp agreed.

Luffy laughed in delight, utterly pleased with his crew choices once more. Zoro watched the scene, and then smiled like he knew this was where they had been going all along. Sanji, of course, had no problems with it. The guy made him uneasy, but then, they’d taken down a lot of guys who had made him feel a lot worse.

“Damn, they’re so carefree…” Nami wasn’t pleased, but she did not argue the decision. “I really have a bad feeling about this…” Robin giggled lightly at Nami’s response.

So it was decided. “It’s exciting, right?” Luffy exclaimed.

“There’s no need for that sort of excitement,” Nami chastised.

Zoro and Sanji exchanged a glance, and then they each pulled the stranger up by one arm and started dragging him towards Chopper’s infirmary.


End file.
